Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Viscera. Top Story - August 2024. Content Warning.
It's pretty comfortable, this dentist's chair. I’m cushioned by patent leather, and kept warm by the surgical sheets laid over me. Steel kidney dishes sit on the trolley next to me, their contents concealed beneath cloth.
By Addison Alder2 years ago in Horror
Rusalka. Runner-up in Overboard Challenge. Top Story - August 2024.
On this midsummer morning the lake is a sheet of silver under the rising sun and the air smells of lingonberries and wild roses. Water laps at the sides of Dima’s little boat as we glide across the lake, eyeing each other like two wolves circling a kill.
By Jean McKinney2 years ago in Fiction
The Ship Pheonix. Top Story - August 2024.
We came for different reasons. Some of us were sad, some were frustrated, and some were just tired of living the same everyday life. Whatever our motivations, we all answered the ad. Looking for a getaway? Has life got you down? Need an escape? Take a cruise on the Phoenix. I don't think any of us still alive know if those words were a gift or a curse.
By The Invisible Writer2 years ago in Fiction
My Thoughts on Exclusive Stories. Top Story - August 2024.
THE LOW DOWN I'm sure if you've been on Vocal in the last 24 hours you've become aware of the new "exclusive stories" feature that the Vocal team has launched on the site. It's something the community has been asking for for years: an update on the "pledges" feature that had little to no value for readers, nor the writers besides a very kind and generous monthly tip.
By Amanda Starks2 years ago in Writers
The Righter. Top Story - August 2024.
Mike was still too flabbergasted to think straight. He led a boring, nondescript life, worked a boring job as a convenience store clerk, and had no significant impact on the world around him. Why would he, of all people be given this opportunity? And why had they all just shown up at the store?
By Dana Crandell2 years ago in Fiction
L*pogram Challenge Winners
Top marks to Joyce Sherry for How Helen Katasko Lost Her Job, our winner of the L*pogram Challenge which gives a nod to Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley, at least that’s what it felt like to us. We enjoyed the cleverness of the language that turned constraint into virtue. “Up the creek sans paddle,” Helen says, the lack of the letter ‘i’ telling you something about her character. A nicely propulsive plot and a sense of the briny sea brought added enjoyment.
By Vocal Curation Team2 years ago in Resources
Asphalt. Top Story - August 2024.
The motorcycle rattled underneath gloved palms. Another patch of gravel. The road that had been perfectly paved asphalt was now closer to the elegance of a towpath than a modern street. Alex’s front wheel jerked to the left as he narrowly drove past a pothole deep enough to swallow the front wheel of the sleek black Yamaha and leave a corpse for dawn to handle. Some poor sap would uncover what was left, he thought. Some poor dumbass who was out for a stroll would stumble across a crushed body full of rocks and branches and mud and he would be the cause of a heart attack.
By Silver Daux2 years ago in Fiction
Where Am I After Nearly Six Months With A Lethal Cancer. Top Story - August 2024.
You're Going To Die, Mr. Morton. I'm very sorry. -My doctor It's been nearly six months of living in my new reality. Since then, every day has become part of an unexpected journey. When I look backward, I remember joking about 2024. I told the closest person to me that I just wanted to get through the holidays without anyone dying. Unfortunately, I forgot one other day that stands out.
By Jason Morton2 years ago in Longevity
Positive Emotions. Top Story - August 2024.
The flower sat on the window sill as a reminder of positive emotions. It was a marigold and it was a bright resilient orange. It was starting to get leggy, straggly at its stem; it looked forlorn as it had been there for some time in its pot. Brownness was encroaching on its edges, eroding its leaves and causing them to tatter; like rags and bags caught forever on a fence, unable to escape the merciless, relentless wind, waiting to disintegrate. Summer was almost over and it would die. It had dry soil with a crispy crust, scattered with vermiculite from the once healthy potting mix. Its stem and leaves had once been a vibrant green but now it looked like a child's drawing of a flower, coloured with cheap acrylic paints from the dollar store that were too thin and presented colour like a veil, not a brick. It was fading and no-one was there to notice except her.
By Rachel Deeming5 years ago in Fiction
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 08/22/2024
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal2 years ago in Resources
